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Topic: Sailing yachts around the world. (Read 4400 times)

I have been sailing since June last year. One voyage has been logged via Mustardland. So far I have been all round the U.K., going from the Norfolk coast, up to Scarpa Flow, the Hebrides, the Irish Sea, then up the Channel and inside the Isle of Wight and finishing back where the voyage begun.

I have always wanted to follow historic voyages. So I am using the fastest Yacht to sail round the world. As I am aware that my health could stop this, I am sailing with the current winds, via Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, across the Indian Ocean to Australia and onward across the Pacific and home, via Cape Horn.

At the moment, Wanderer IV is sailing southward and eastward, below the Cape of Good Hope, after a stop at Cape Town. The weather is real, so one is totally at the mercy of the wind. Wanderer IV is doing just over 10 knots just now, with some cloud in the sky. The boat is heeled at 28 degrees. I have seen dolphins and whales while sailing. These and sea-birds have been added to bring things more to life.

One can alway tell when a whale surfaces, as there is a big bang that sounds like the side of the hull has just been hit.

The other yacht I am sailing for Mustardland is The Catty Snork.

There are plenty of videos on U Tube about Sailaway. It is one of the few things I can still do, so I value it greatly.

Wanderer IV is sailing through high seas as we enter the Indian Ocean. Wind speed at 25 knots. The yacht is doing more than 10 knots just now. Sky is overcast but no rain. Spray flying off the water. At least it is daylight. There are new sailors on the sim. We are a world-wide sailing community.It is nice to get the sails trimmed well. To know that one has done one's best.

The Yacht is heeling at 34 degrees in the strong winds. This wind is caused by a storm-system south of Cape Town. The area is also known as the Cape of Storms for a good reason. I sailed south in order to benefit from this. Now we are sailing N.E. again. My course will be decided by the weather. Calms are possible. The Volvo race ran into a large area of calm off Africa as they sailed to Cape Town before Christmas. People got frustrated. Now most of them are in Melbourne, Australia. They all sailed S.E. from Cape Town to get the constant winds in the Southern Ocean. So it was a fast passage for them. I am just sailing round the world, so there is no rush. If we sail further north, there will be many places to visit on the way. I use Google Earth for this. It is a good way to learn about the world. I am gaining much knowledge about the waters I sail through.

The Catty Snork is on her way to Hawaii. More storm systems there, which means course adjustments to make the most of the winds generated. We still have around 2000 Nautical miles to sail, to reach Pearl Harbour. >wheelchair<

The wind is doing more than 22 knots, so it has a bite. It howls through the rigging. One thing about sailing is the noise in a strong wind. Also, the seas are high. It can feel scary at first, until one sees how the boat sails through it. A bit of spray, so it is wet in the cockpit. Wind is variable. At times it blows even stronger.The boat is doing more than 10 knots with reefed sails.

It is as real as possible, like flight simulator.The sim has a large number of real sailors and sailing instructors. One of my friends is a retired pilot and sailing instructor. The weather is real weather. It is new, so has years of development ahead of it. The sim is the most accurate ever done. Anyone can have a go.

There is a new small boat, the Nordic Volkboat which is intended to be very simple to sail and give one a taste of what it is like to sail one's own boat. This boat came out in Norway, 1942. It is a delight to sail.

The prevailing current flow is from the Atlantic into the Indian Ocean. Add strong Westerlies and it is a recipe for confused seas. These conditions are what made Cape Town the place where people settled. There is a good harbour there. It provides shelter from the storms.

It is now dark. The only lights come from the navigation lights. Red, green and a white light at the stern.

The wind speed is now 27 knots. This is real weather. The current flow is 0.5 knots from 103 degrees. The boat is heeling at 38 degrees. the Transom/nose pitch is 2 degrees. We have 3.5 degrees of weather helm. Speed over the ground is around 7.7 knots. and the heading is 45 degrees. Depth under keel is around 11740 feet.

The wind blows from the N.E at more than 28 knots. Sails reefed but boat heeled over. It not the shots of Dan Snow steering his yacht. I have never seen real sailing conditions in professional films. The sea is always calm and the boats are under full sail. With such conditions the wind is around 5 knots.